The LogicBots overhaul update is finally here! This is by far the biggest update to date and is aimed at getting LogicBots ready for final release.
In this update there is a complete overhaul of the user interface (UI), which is designed to make the UI look better, be easier and faster to use and be more intuitive.
There has been a huge upgrade to the physics in the game, making your LogicBots much more reliable and faster, along with much better control of the simulation accuracy. This allows the game to run more easily on old and new hardware. This does mean some of your LogicBot designs from the previous version may no longer work.
The tutorials have also been completely remade to work with the new UI system. The tutorials should now be much more comprehensive whilst also allowing you to get to grips with the game more easily.
The first and second areas have now been completed; area one is designed as a school workshop and area two is a warehouse.
The save file for LogicBots has also been changed; it is now an encrypted save as Steam achievements will be added soon. Don't worry your old saves will still work but they will be upgraded into the new save format next time you play and this won't affect any workshop content. Just make sure you play the game before the final release of LogicBots as this feature will be removed in the future .
Loading has now also been improved; you will now get a loading screen between levels and the loading should not cause any more occasional crashes when switching scenes.
A lot of optimisation has also gone into the update which has greatly reduced the size of the game to roughly an eighth of its previous size even though there is now much more content. You should also now get much better frame rates when playing the game.
There are also a lot of changes and replacements made to the LogicBot parts, to find out more check the patch notes.
The game now also has an xml dictionary backbone for all game text, this means that I will shortly be releasing an update which will allow support for third party language packs on Steam Workshop.
Finally the last three areas are now disabled along with the sandbox mode. This is because they are now no longer compatible with LogicBots. Updates over the coming months will be adding these areas back in at release quality however if you want to play them now you can use the last version of LogicBots (Steam > Right click LogicBots > Properties > Betas > Select 'preoverhaulbuild'). Be aware however that saves are not backwards compatible ,so if you save in the latest version it will not be compatible in the previous one.
With all of these changes there is also a new demo available.
Hope you enjoy the update! Any feedback is most welcome in the discussions both positive and negative. I will try to address all your questions and will take on board any requested features. Be aware that as this is a big update there will probably be a few bugs that have slipped through the net. If you find a bug please report it here and I will get it fixed asap.
Kenneth
Patch Notes:
New Features:
Added xml text backbone
Added new school scene for area 1
Added electronic compass part to place the gyro on level 1-8
Added loading screens
Added simulation accuracy control
Changes:
Complete rework of the UI
Complete rework of the tutorials
Added scenery to the industrial estate
Optimised scene loading and storage
Added pass-through for debugging parts
Updated part circuit boards and given them icons
Camera is now free when you view a level
Ultrasonic ranger performance and reliability upgrade
Proximity sensor performance upgrade
Lighting and lightmap improvements
Changed the torque of all main body motors (wheels will behave differently on different main bodies)
Save file now encrypted as .lbs and can no longer be edited outside the game
Levels are now numbered making LogicBots naming easier
Bug Fixes:
Fixed gyro, now has slightly different functionality
Fixed avoid bots level
Fixed colour maze level
Fixed level loading crash
One year of Early Access
Hello everyone. I had hoped to be releasing a LogicBots update for today to celebrate one year of LogicBots on Steam, but unfortunately the Unity engine bug has still not been fixed. So instead I thought I would give another update post to show what is coming.
Fortunately this has given me a great opportunity to upgrade the user interface. This was one of the biggest tasks still needing to be done and the process of changing the user interface prevents update releases until it is complete . I am pleased to say this process is now complete and I can give you a sneak peak of the new UI.
I now think I have found a workaround for the Unity bug, however there are a few things I need to complete first before the next release such as changing the tutorials to work with the new UI system. If the bug is still not resolved by then I will try to implement a workaround to get the release out, so hopefully this big update will be released sometime in October.
As I am sure you are aware it has been a while since the last LogicBots update, so I am posting this announcement to let everyone know what's happening!
It was always planned that there would be a considerable gap between the last update and the next one as the last update marked the end of the constructive phase for LogicBots. This means that all the levels and features had been added and now it was time to go back through the game and start to polish all the levels up to a release state along with removing any design flaws with the levels.
This meant the creating of lots of new assets which is a much slower process.
This process is now complete for the first and second level sets, but unfortunately I haven't been able to push these updates to everyone due to a game breaking bug with LogicBot's game engine.
LogicBots like many indie games runs on the Unity engine. When the game was first started it was made on the Unity 4 engine. However this year the Unity 5 engine was released which offered lots of advantages for LogicBots which would greatly improve the performance, graphics and simulation accuracy of the game. This is why the game was upgraded to the Unity 5 engine a few updates ago.
The Unity developers are still updating and upgrading this new engine so since the last update LogicBots has been upgraded to the latest version 5.1 to take advantage of more new features. Unfortunately the latest version has a bug with causes wheels added to robots to not join correctly. This bug has been confirmed by the Unity developers and is being fixed but a fix is still to be released.
I do have the option to roll LogicBots back to 5.0 if necessary but it is better to keep developing for the latest engine as it will mean a better, more stable game in the long run.
Although I can't push any update out, fortunately this bug doesn't affect the making of LogicBots so work is carrying on as usual. All it means is the next update will be a big one with at least two updates rolled into one!
Hopefully this bug affecting LogicBots will be patched soon but I can't give a date.
Thank you for your patience and for supporting LogicBots!
Kenneth
LogicBots Workshop now public.
The workshop for LogicBots is now public so you will be able to search for LogicBots on the Steam Workshop page and your new contributions will appear on the public Workshop! To celebrate I have added an 8 legged fully controllable walking robot which you can download from the workshop and play with in the sandbox mode.
As of the new physics patch upgrading the games physics engine released on March 20th many of the moving physics parts such as the pistons changed dramatically making them harder to use. This patch has corrected at lot of the introduced physics problems and they now should be better than even and be much sturdier and more reliable allowing you to make more complex creations.
The latest patch has also added a lot more bug fixes listed below. If you find any new bugs remember to post them in the Feature requests and Bug reporting thread and they will be fixed as quickly as possible.
Enjoy the update and I look forward to seeing new creations on the workshop!
Patch Notes
Changes
LogicBots Workshop now public
LogicBots demo updated
Bug Fixes
Z fighting bug fix
Fixed crash on walking robot level
Fixed laser rangers detecting finish lines
Fixed Sensor AOE markers blocking part placement
Fixed Various physics bugs with pistons
Fixed pistons being moved incorrectly
Fixed editor saving bugs
Fixed editor saving bug
Fixed editor crash when setting objectives
Fixed bug with left hand menu in level editor
Fixed fail areas and boxes interaction crashing the editor
Fixed tutorial bug where you could select an outline freezing camera movement
Fixed bug where you could select pat outlines while placing a new part causing the camera to freeze.
Fixed bug on level walk through tutorial where you could select a jack when you were not meant to be able to.
Fixed a bug where tutorial awards were counting towards the displayed total
Lighting Reworked and Level Builder Upgraded
Big update for LogicBots! The level builder has been upgraded and re-added to the game so you can give it another try and share your creations on Workshop. In the builder you can place props, make black lines, add waypoints, create fail areas along with setting the parts available and the objectives. Currently you can only make levels where you have to reach a finish line with your LogicBots but the ability to make the other styles of levels will be coming in the future.
The user interface for the level builder will be the style used for the whole game once LogicBots is complete so be sure to post any feedback you have on the community hub as changes on this will affect the entire user interface once complete.
The lighting for LogicBots has been completely reworked so your LogicBots should now look a lot better! This marks the beginning of the upgrading of all the visual assets for LogicBots as work is now going into the level areas so each area will have a distinct look and have an interesting environment.
Enjoy the update!
Patch Notes
Changes
Complete rework of Lighting System
Updated and re-enabled Level builder
New User Interface for Level Builder
Bug Fixes
Fixed various physics bugs introduced in last patch.
Fixed rotating platform bugs.
Fixed Conveyer belt physics bugs.
Fixed crash when plaing grass cut level
Fixed typo in Multi Retrieve
Fixed Stair climb finish
Bugfix and new physics
Due to a game breaking bug when creating new saves this update has been pushed early, because of this the level builder has been temporally disabled. However this update does contain a large upgrade to then physics engine meaning that simulations should now be more reliable and moving parts should be more rigid.
The second half to this update will be coming in the next two weeks, it will fix some of the introduced lighting bugs and contain a new and improved level builder.
Patch Notes
New Features
Level builder temporally disabled
Changes
Upgraded physics engine
Added selective addition gate to single motor level
Bug fixes
Fixed bug when creating new saves
Fixed a bug with the fail area in single motor level.
Fixed a bug causing tutorials to be bugged when replayed
Bugfix Patch
Small patch fixing some of the outstanding bugs.
Patch Notes
New Features
Auto-saving every 4 minutes
Changed Not gate symbol
Changes
Corrected Various spelling/grammar mistakes
Changed Not gate symbol
Removed transistor from from single motor level
Bug fixes
Fixed bug with Maze level finish line
Fixed a bug affecting the truck in fast forward
Fixed a bug preventing causing the US ranged to jump from 0.8-1 missing 0.9
Fixed a bug evolving moving pistons
Fixed a bug causing moved parts being deleted when selecting another tab
Fixed a bug preventing you from quitting tutorials
Introducing Workshop
Steam workshop has now been integrated with LogicBots. To learn out how to use workshop with LogicBots click here.
This update gives you the ability to share LogicBots and levels over steam workshop. Currently the level creator is still a prototype so more features will be added and if you have any suggestions for features for the level builder you would like to see be sure to post them in the LogicBots discussions.
The main menu for LogicBots has now been overhauled, although it is not complete as the room still needs texture work and more small props, you can get a feel for way the game will look once complete. This style of user interface will be brought in the future into the rest of the game so please leave feedback of what you like and don't like.
As with any large update I expect there to be some bugs which have not been caught so if you find one it would be great if you could post it in the bug reporting thread. Over the next few weeks I will be working on all the currently known outstanding bugs so if you have reported a bug and it hasn't been fixed in this update it will be soon.
A notable added feature for this update is the Simulation Accuracy setting in the options menu. If your game is running really slowly while running the simulation part of a level try turning the simulation accuracy down. This will reduce the load on your CPU and make the game run faster however it will make your LogicBots less reliable.
Hope you enjoy the update and I can't wait to see some of the creations!
Patch Notes
New Features
New main menu
Simulation accuracy option
Workshop Support for levels and LogicBots
Changes
Slightly different save format to store part information. (Old saves will still work but you will need to resave robots and levels to store the new information)
New GUI for saving. (Rest of the GUI will be ungraded to fit with this style in the future)
LogicBots Sandbox Update and Level Builder
The sandbox prototype for LogicBots has now been updated. Now you can create your own Sandbox levels using the level creator tools to draw black lines, add props, add way-points, add fail areas and move the start and finish positions
The sandbox level builder also lets you set the parts and cash available so you can make a level and sent it to a friend to try and complete!
The level builder and sandbox are still a prototype so this means they do not contain all the features yet and the sandbox level saves may not work after future updates, however I will try to avoid this! The level saves are saved locally in %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Incandescent Games\LogicBots\Custom Levels.
The new sandbox prototype and level builder are also likely to be buggy, so if you do come across an issue please report it in the Steam discussions. Also if you have any suggestions for features you would like to see in the level builder or sandbox you can also post them there.
For the time being, to get into the level editor click the "Objectives" button while in the Sandbox Prototype.
As the controls are currently not listed in the game for the Level Editor;
WASD: move camera
Space: move up
Left Shift: move down
X: toggle snapping
Have fun!
Sandbox Prototype
The latest update contains a prototype for the sandbox mode. In it you can build with all the robot parts (except those which were made specifically for a level). This is nowhere near finished but I thought it was worth releasing for people to try out and give feedback on.
If you press the objectives button you will be taken into the level and will be able to draw black lines for your robot to follow. Currently this is the only available feature but there will be more features coming such as the ability to change the start point, add GPS way points, add props and set your own objectives. Also the sandbox level itself will get changed to a new map in the future but for the time being it will be using the indoor level form the game.
You are also currently unable to save any black lines you make but this feature will be added later.
Patch Notes
New Features
Sandbox mode prototype
Ability to draw black lines in sandbox
Snapping grid for sandbox`
Changes
Updated text on arcsine/arccos/arctan gates
Updated text for challenge objective in level 5-2 to represent actual objective.
Made slight changes to the first tutorial. Removed the requirement to name your robot when saving as it was annoying.
Bug fixes
Fixed bug allowing you to select Functional parts in level 4-2
Fixed bug where rotating platform was listed twice in 4-6
Fixed text for Circuit Board Extension 5x5
Fixed bug with root gate
Fixed a bug causing number monitor to be split onto 2 lines with long decimal numbers.
